In this episode we talk to Rev. Wilma Jakobsen, the
first ordained woman in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and
an anti-apartheid activist during the worst, and last years, of
apartheid South Africa. We not only talk about her story, but we
also talk about her reactions to Ferguson, and working through
white privilege. We also talk about the future of not only her home
country, but of the civil rights movement here in America. What
does it mean, as a white person, to be a witness and ally to the
experiences of People of Color? What does it mean when we say
people are equal in the eyes of God?

Wilma Jakobsen was born in Cape
Town, South Africa of immigrant parents from Denmark and Britain.
She earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Cape Town,
worked as a high school physical science and math teacher, then
came to the United States in 1984 to attend Fuller Seminary,
Pasadena.

After obtaining her Master of Divinity from Fuller,
she returned to South Africa to be ordained as a deacon. Four years
later, when the Anglican Church of Southern Africa finally allowed
it, she became the first female priest ordained by Archbishop
Desmond Tutu. She worked for 15 years in the Diocese of Cape Town,
in parishes in black townships, university towns, the cathedral, a
rural parish with fishing and farming communities, and a 19-month
stint as chaplain to Archbishop Tutu. During the apartheid years
she was an anti-apartheid activist in church and faith based
organizations, which crystallized her conviction of the connection
between faith and social justice.

In 1997 she obtained a Master of Sacred Theology from
Union Theological Seminary, New York. She was the Anglican chaplain
at the University of Cape Town for six years, then joined the staff
of All Saints Church, Pasadena in 2003, serving most recently
as Senior Associate for Children, Youth & Families,
Students & Young Adults. She is passionate about
the integration of spirituality in all areas of life, and her
belief that “ ministry built on a solid basis of prayer,
relationships, loving pastoral care, mutual ministry with priest
and people as equals, contemplation and action, creativity,
Eucharist and social action, can transform people’s lives.”

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About the Podcast

This Week In Heresy is about stories: the stories of those who generally go unheard in mainstream progressive thought and spirituality. While Rev. Gina is not doing interviews anymore, these interviews will stay available in the name of radical inclusion and interfaith cooperation. If you have any questions, or would like to syndicate an interview, please email Rev. Gina at worthyadvisor@gmail.com.